Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 3 July 2012 and the Special Committees held on 2 August 2012 and 6 September 2012 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 3 July 2012 and the Special Committees held on 2 August 2012 and 6 September 2012 were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee are asked to note the attached brief setting out the items selected by Overview and Scrutiny Committees to scrutinise as part of their work programmes for the next municipal year.

The Committee discussed the briefing note which had been prepared by Committee Administration on the topics that other Overview and Scrutiny Committees would be scrutinising as part of their work programme following the successful Ageing Well Event.

The Committee agreed that they would wish to form a topic group to scrutinise the Impact of Services on the Elderly.  Thought would be given to the basis of the topic group, and dates would be circulated for the first meeting.

It was agreed that there would be a number of issues that could be scrutinised including elderly people who live alone and who do not have any family to support/ assist them with everyday tasks e.g. cleaning.

The Committee will receive the Annual Complaints Report and an update on the Adult Social Care Complaints Procedure.

The Committee received the Adult Social Care Complaints Procedure and Annual Report.  There had been some procedural changes to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) duty, as the LGO powers had been extended to investigate self-funder complaints in domiciliary care agencies and residential/nursing homes.

Officers explained that sometimes safeguarding and complaints overlapped, and therefore a draft protocol had been produced but required input from both Health and the Police.  Once finalised the protocol would be included as an appendix to the procedures.

The Committee noted that when enquiries were passed to the Ombudsman they were generally referred back to the Local Authority where possible so that the issues could be resolved locally. Of three cases that had not been completed not premature, two had been discontinued where the Ombudsman had found that the local authority had acted appropriately and the other found no maladministration after investigation.  The outcome of the ongoing investigation was recently received where injustice was remedied with a settlement of £1,500.

The Committee noted that the total number of complaints had gone down over the last 4 years; however there were more informal complaints, which were resolved much quicker. Concerns were raised about the number of complaints received for Reablement.  This was partly a result of the recent changes and challenges that the service had been subject to.  Due to a restructuring, this had had an impact on staff, which in turn had a detrimental affect on the service.

A member raised concerns that the Learning Disabilities Team had a 50% increase in complaints.  Officers explained that there had been a change in provision, and people do not like change this resulted in a number of complaints.  Members asked if this was an impact of the closure of one of the day opportunities that the Committee had scrutinised. Officers explained that this was not the case.

Officers explained complaints about residential nursing homes, involving respite placements which may lead to a safeguarding investigation. It may be concluded that there should be reimbursement.  In one case the home were asked to pay back the cost to the client as the respite care was not up to standard. The majority of complaints in this and domiciliary care were due to quality of service and the attitude of staff.  It was however found that this was in terms of the expectations of the family as to the actual provision of care. Staff had been advised to make clear exactly what is in the care plan so there is a clear expectation of what service would be provided.

Members asked if cleaning was included in a care plan.  Officers stated that this was not normally included, however there was some flexibility in how direct payments could be used, and therefore the client could use this to pay a member of their family to clean for them.  Officers explained that in particular circumstances, due to neglect, a cleaning agency could be sent in.

The Committee discussed the response times and noted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Committee will received a report on the “Activate Havering” Campaign.  This will set out other projects including the Loneliness Campaign, Help not Hospital and IT for the Elderly.

The Committee received a report on the Activate Havering Project which was aimed at strengthening voluntary action in Havering, by maximising community assets and co-ordinating volunteering, as well as tackling social exclusion experienced by many older people.

Officers explained that the Havering Strategic Partnership had allocated a one off amount of its Performance Reward Grant funding to develop a project called “Unlocking the Potential of Local Support Networks and Volunteers in Havering”.  The project, known as Activate Havering, built upon the vast array of local voluntary sector support networks that existed in Havering.

Six weeks of fact finding and research were carried out to find out what people needed and wanted in Havering.  This was in response to the Over 65 Outreach Project findings which identified loneliness and isolation as a key concern of older people in Havering.  After carrying out the research into other projects the approach to Activate Havering included:

• A “social membership” scheme to improve older peoples social networks to prevent isolation.

• A co-ordinated approach to volunteering to enhance volunteering opportunities and provide more opportunities for local people to get involved.

• Delivery of a sustainable handyperson service to carry out minor household repairs to ensure older people can be safe at home, a key element of the “Prevention” agenda.

• A consortia solution to befriending, which involved providing trained and vetted volunteers to visit older, and other vulnerable people.

• Work with Havering’s diverse faith sector to strengthen the support they are able to give to families and older people within their communities.

• Maximising the use of council and borough facilities by linking and promoting services through the new and existing structures and building upon the work of Care Point.

The Committee were informed that the Havering Circle: A “Social Membership” Scheme had been established to combat social exclusion.  A Community Interest Company, called “Participle” had been commissioned to develop a Membership Scheme which promoted social activities and independence in later life.  Other initiatives included a co-ordinated approach to volunteering which would include Cold Weather Befrienders and Community Clean-ups.

The Help Not Hospital project was outlined. This was a twelve month health and social care funded project, which provided support to people who did not currently meet the “Fair Access to Care Services” criteria.  A contract was awarded to The British Red Cross and the project was initiated on 3 September 2012.  The aim of the project was to reduce and prevent unplanned hospital admissions, admissions to residential and nursing home care, delays or elimination of the need of residential care and to increase independence skills of people within the community.

Other projects included Havering Safer Homes – this was the provision of a handyperson service.  Previously this service had been free of charge however this was not financially sustainable in the current environment of reduced government funding.  Charging would be introduced on a tiered basis taking into account disposable income, with those more able to pay making a greater contribution in order not to deter people from using  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.